Capturing the Complexity: Content, Type, and Amount of Instruction and Quality of the Classroom Learning Environment Synergistically Predict Third Graders' Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Outcomes

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  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.apa.org
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      17
    • Sponsoring Agency:
      Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
      Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
    • Contract Number:
      R305H040013
      R305B070074
      R01HD48539
      R21HD062834
      P50HD052120
    • Education Level:
      Grade 3
      Primary Education
      Elementary Education
      Early Childhood Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Grade 3; Vocabulary; Reading Comprehension; Classroom Environment; Literacy Education; Time on Task; Systems Approach; Educational Quality; Classroom Observation Techniques; Elementary School Students; Elementary School Teachers; Structural Equation Models; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; Outcomes of Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Florida
    • Subject Terms:
      Gates MacGinitie Reading Tests; Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
    • Accession Number:
      10.1037/a0035921
    • ISSN:
      0022-0663
    • Abstract:
      We examined classrooms as complex systems that affect students' literacy learning through interacting effects of content and amount of time individual students spent in literacy instruction along with the global quality of the classroom learning environment. We observed 27 3rd-grade classrooms serving 315 target students using 2 different observation systems. The first assessed instruction at a more micro level, specifically, the amount of time individual students spent in literacy instruction defined by the type of instruction, role of the teacher, and content. The second assessed the quality of the classroom learning environment at a more macro level, focusing on classroom organization, teacher responsiveness, and support for vocabulary and language. Results revealed that both global quality of the classroom learning environment and time individual students spent in specific types of literacy instruction covering specific content interacted to predict students' comprehension and vocabulary gains, whereas neither system alone did. These findings support a dynamic systems model of how individual children learn in the context of classroom literacy instruction and the classroom learning environment, which can help to improve observations systems, advance research, elevate teacher evaluation and professional development, and enhance student achievement.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • IES Funded:
      Yes
    • Publication Date:
      2015
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1054579